Feeling lucky as the holiday weekend begins? Ideeli is doing another of their giveaways guaranteed to keep fashion lovers checking their computers this weekend. They are giving away a Jimmy Choo purse today, a Christian Louboutin clutch tomorrow and a Gucci bag on Sunday. In addition they are running one of their Red Sales that includes a variety of cocktail and sundresses for summer nights. You can sign up here.

The luxury shift toward the East continues especially for the larger brands. Gucci recently opened its 28th store in China and plans to open two to four more stores this year in China. In a Reuters article Gucci CEO Patrizio Di Marco said that Gucci wants to have 40 stores in China within the next few years. Instead of scaling back, they are pushing forward and he says that "to have 28 stores, or to think of having 40 stores, is not excessive at all." Gucci's leather goods sales have continued to rise; sales of Gucci-branded products in China, Hong Kong and Macao went up 41.5 percent in 2008 and Gucci is hoping that Chinese consumers will be the new engine to power the luxury market.

Gucci has also created a special bag just for the Shanghai market. Check out an image here.

Gucci's new chief executive officer, Patrizio di Marco has unveiled his strategy for the Italian brand's future. His strategy includes cutting production and multiple variations of the same style and solidifying the mid-range of the brand. Di Marco, who comes to Gucci from another PPR-owned company luxury leather brand Bottega Veneta, wants to balance contemporary fashion with the Gucci traditions, emphasizing craftsmanship and quality. Di Marco is also behind the lawsuit filed against Guess? Inc. last month.

Driving Gucci sales currently is the revival of the Jackie bag by creative director Frida Giannini. The bag which was named for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, sells for around $3,000 has received fashion acclaim this season. Di Marco has nothing but praise for Giannini he is quoted by Bloomberg as saying that she "knows how to balance the fashion elements with Gucci's heritage," Di Marco and Giannini, shown above, represent the continuation of the Gucci aesthetic fine-tuned by Tom Ford in the 1990s, chic and soigné with a dash of lethal sexy.

Guess has created handbags that ape the looks of designer bags for far less money for years but Gucci has had enough. Bloomberg reports that Gucci Group's U.S. unit is suing Guess? Inc. for trademark infringement. The companies both make ample use of the "g" logo and both do interlocking G pattens and embossed leather (or in Guess's case, vinyl).

Gucci's lawsuit claims that the knockoffs are no homage but are instead "part of a sophisticated and elaborate scheme to target Gucci, to create products that are similar in appearance to the most popular and best-known Gucci products." Gucci is seeking damages as well as a court order banning Guess from using the disputed designs and calling for surrender of all the existing bags in question.

Copying has become commonplace in the fashion world especially when a lower-priced line imitates a more expensive brand. It becomes a question of just how similar the designs are and whether or not the lookalike handbags and wallets are damaging the Gucci brand.

This shiny, adorable bag is the new Gucci D Gold Large Hobo.

This purse is already so popular that Saks will only allow you to order three units every thirty days. The hobo is 15"W X 10"H X 6¼"D with a single 6½" drop handle. The 80's reminiscent shape is crafted from a crystal lamé and accentuated with metallic leather edges and trim. The bold, golden hardware completes the sheer decadence of this look. We especially love the soft gathering at the base of the purse, which lends elegance to its casual shape.

Metallic neutrals like this can be carried with a wide array of colors -- and are particularly lovely with pastels -- but even black is well complemented by brown this season.

The Gucci D Gold Large Hobo is available for pre-order from Saks Fifth Avenue for $790.

Fancy backpacks, so beloved in the late 1990s, may be back in fashion. Gucci is certainly trying to make it happen with their new large leather backpack which offers a bit more room than the previous smaller incarnations. The bag has interchangeable hobo straps, front zip pockets and interior cell phone and PDA zip pockets and can be either carried as a hobo or worn as a backpack . You can pre-order at Neiman Marcus for $2,590.

Fabled Bordeaux brand Château Latour, widely regarded as one of the finest wines from the Medoc region, is being offered for sale by top-drawer investment bank Lazard Freres, the London Times reports. French business tycoon and president of the luxury-goods group PPR, François Pinault, is seeking $200 million - $280 million for it, the paper reports.

Pinault, whose holdings include Christie's (also rumored to be for sale), Gucci and Puma, piad about $150 million for Latour in 1993. Bernard Magrez, owner of the rival Pape Clément winery, is said to be a strong contender, perhaps with backing from his and friend fellow wine aficionado Gérard Depardieu.

The Château Latour estate consists of 190 acres of Bordeaux vineyards, but only grapes from the 115 acres that surround the actual chateau at the heart of the estate are used to make the Grand Vin de Château Latour (right). A case of the 1961 vintage fetched an impressive $170,000 at auction by Christie's in Hong Kong last month.

Italian luxury goods firm Bottega Veneta has come out with a stunning sterling silver desk set (above) which cleverly translates the company's signature leather weave, known as Intrecciato. The stylish set includes a ruler ($1,670), letter opener ($1,070), magnifying glass ($820), business card case ($790) and bookmark ($180). Creative director Tomas Maier, who was installed following Gucci's acquisition of the brand in 2001, has recently expanded Bottega Veneta's offerings beyond the traditional leather goods and apparel, to elegant effect.

In its fourth collaboration with UNICEF, Gucci has designed a special bag as part of its Tattoo Hearts Collection. The handbag, a white leather shoulder bag with a heart-and-horse-bit-tattoo painted on, is Gucci's attempt to raise funds for the children's rights organization.

The company will donate 25% of all sales from the collection up until January 31, 2009.

[via Vogue UK]

Clearly I'm behind on my Gucci ads because I just noticed that Drew Barrymore is the face of the company's Horsebit jewelry line. According to this post from Fabsugar, dated almost a year ago, Barrymore is the first celebrity chosen to promote the line. I just spotted one of the ads in the September 2008 Travel + Leisure, so I guess Barrymore either signed a contact for a year or more, or the company is happy with how sales are going. The cocktail ring Barrymore's wearing, for example, is 18kt yellow gold with brown diamonds, total 5.76 carats: $10,890.

Steve McQueen is the art world's new King of Cool. The British filmmaker whose recent project Hunger won the prestigious Caméra d'Or award at Cannes, adds another prominent award to his collection: Gucci Group's annual recognition of an international artist who makes a significant contribution to film. And this year's group of nominees -- Julian Schnabel, Isaac Julien and Adam Yauch -- provided staunch competition indeed.

Robert Polet, Gucci's CEO and President, presented the award to McQueen during the 65th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. The committee included some of the world's greatest arbiters of style, Italian Vogue's Franco Sozzani, the artist Jeff Koons, actress Isabelle Huppert, Yves Saint Laurent's creative director Stefano Pilati and the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, Marco Muller.

I'm not crazy about the triangular shape of this crocodile pelham shopper bag from Gucci but otherwise it's a standard, versatile shoulder bag that's sure to be useful as well as fashionable. Featuring crocodile in dark green with silver hardware and two braided straps, the bag also has horsebit accents, tab-snap closure, protective feet on the bottom, and an inside zip pocket. Measuring 19.3" x 5.1" x 11" it's an attractive and generously sized bag but I must admit I'm not sure what exactly warrants the sky high (even for Gucci) price of $22,900.

Will the new Crystal GG bags from Gucci be the latest "it" bags? That's what Vogue UK seems to think about the bags for autumn/winter 2008-9. Will I do think Creative Director Frida Giannini does have a way with the accessories, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to anoint these as "it." The bags take theSixties Gucci canvas, add a new glossy coating, and a sharp patent finish. The line includes totes, clutches, and handbags with gold studs, leather tassels and heart-shaped crests.

A few months ago I mentioned that Gucci sales fell 3.3% in the first quarter. Well, we've got some better news for the Italian brand today. Bloomberg reports that Gucci, which is the biggest money maker for Paris-based retailer PPR SA, reported an 11 percent increase in second-quarter sales.

Like other companies who have reported lately, Gucci is still vulnerable. Some say that Gucci has lost its identity and some of its cachet since its astronomical rise in the 1990s under the able hands of Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole. For Gucci part of the problem is also that sales at U.S. luxury department stores are also in decline and much of Gucci's sales happen at those stores. Gucci's current strategy is to hit the lower end of the market and that also gives some analysts cause for worry since it is this part of the market that is most vulnerable in a down economy.

Singer Rihanna, shown here performing at the This Day Africa Rising concert in Abuja, Nigeria, has a new gig, starring in Gucci's first ad campaign for Unicef. Gucci does a holiday campaign with the children's charity each year, selling branded merchandise and donating a portion of the proceeds. This year's "Tattoo Heart" campaign will be out in December and will show Rihanna in the Gucci products, of which 25 percent of sales will go to Unicef. Rihanna also her own charity, The Believe Foundation, which also benefits children.